Ex-lawyer who stole $9 million from Memorial Hermann sentenced

Man stole more than $9 million from hospital

Nearly 20 years ago, Memorial Hermann Hospital System officials gave a disbarred lawyer on parole for stealing client funds a second chance by hiring him for a $6-an-hour job working in a division his mother managed.

That opportunity came in 1996. In less than five years, Kenneth J. Wild II - a felon - became the manager of the hospital's printing services. And within two weeks of securing that position in 2001, he exploited a loophole in Memorial Hermann's payment system that allowed him to steal more than $9 million over 14 years.

And for that long arc of financial deception - ill-gotten gains that bought him extravagant overseas trips, extensive home renovations and an impressive wine collection as well as gifts bestowed to adoring nieces and nephews - Wild will spend the next seven years and three months in federal prison.

He was apprehended in March after authorities were alerted to the scam. The arrest happened at Bush Intercontinental Airport as Wild returned from a St. Patrick's Day excursion to Ireland.

He pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud the next month.

"If not for the anonymous tip that alerted Memorial Hermann to what was going on, this scheme would probably still be going on," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Scott Varnado said Monday during a hearing in which he acknowledged four hospital executives in the gallery. "Mr. Wild literally spent this nearly $10 million faster than he could steal it."

The prosecutor told Senior U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt that Wild was a "trusted and beloved member of the Memorial Hermann community" who declined other promotions over the years.

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"Now we know why," Varnado said.

Wild remained in a position that allowed him to preside over an embezzlement scheme by approving phony invoices from a company he controlled for work that was never performed. He also had the freedom to lead a jet-set lifestyle that took him to China, Iceland, Germany, The Netherlands and England in the six months before his arrest.

Memorial Hermann is the largest nonprofit hospital system in Southeast Texas and employs 22,000 people in the region, the prosecutor said.

A letter from the organization to Hoyt said that Wild behaved with "intemperate abandon." System officials also believe the acts were a "betrayal" of the hospital's trust that undermined "faithful and honest employees," wasted money - including federal and state Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements - and contributed to higher costs for patients, the letter said.

Wild's attorney, David Finn, said his client accepts responsibility for his actions. So far, Memorial Hermann has been repaid about $500,000 from the sale of Wild's Katy home, two vehicles and his wine collection.

In asking for a sentence of no more than five or six years, Finn told the judge that Wild's bipolar disorder contributed to his behavior.

"When he gets off of his medication ... he does stupid things. He does illegal things," the lawyer said.

He also acknowledged the toll the fraud took on the hospital, saying that when "someone is embezzling right under your nose, you're going to be furious."

Wearing green scrubs and glasses and restrained by handcuffs and leg shackles, Wild spoke briefly and expressed regret. His siblings and other relatives in the gallery sobbed and dabbed their eyes.

"I would like to apologize to the men and women of Memorial Hermann. I would also like to apologize to my family ... for the secrets that I've kept," the 50-year-old told the judge. "I am very ashamed of what I did and how I did it."

Before handing down the sentence, Hoyt said he was particularly struck that a person trained as a lawyer never had a moment of clarity or responsibility that led him to stop stealing before he was caught.

"I hope that over the next few years you will come to a greater appreciation ... of the nature and extent of these demons who are chasing you. We each have this responsibility. We are not to turn ourselves loose on society," the judge told Wild. "I want you to appreciate and understand there is a price to pay."